Shadow Play
by Brynn MacKenzie
Summary: You can either mess with James Diamond or you can live to tell about it...but you can't do both. -picks up where Step Two left off, mild violence and cursing involved-


**Shadow Play**

Katie spit her water out all over the room when she heard the news report. There, dead center of the newscast was an image of her kissing her husband. Another of her, heavily pregnant, getting off a flight with him. There were several scrolling across the screen of the twins. "I thought you told me you weren't going to post pictures of us in the news!"

James, whom was folding laundry, set the last onesie down and stared over at his wife. "What are you talking about, Katie?"

"What the hell! We're all over the news!" Katie threw her hand out for emphasis. The last image that scrolled by was an image of James, barely dressed in nothing but a shirt and boxers. Katie blushed, realizing she hadn't had his permission to take the image. James wondered if maybe Gustavo was behind this, but words failed him. "James! Why are we on the news?"

"I don't know, Katie!" James grabbed the clothes and carried them into the bedroom, dropping them onto the bed. He shouted from the bedroom, wondering if Katie had been aware of much of anything. "Katie, I'm going to call Gustavo."

"You damn well better! I don't want paparazzi following me around to get 'million dollars' images of the twins!" She threw her dishes into the sink, glad for the first time, that James had talked her into plastic because of the kids. She shook her head and leaned over slightly.

James turned on the news report in the bedroom, listening as he put laundry away. After doing six baskets of wash, it needed to be put away. He turned when he heard the woman speaking. "In other news, the hot new item today is leaked images of Big Time Rush vocalist, James Diamond. It seems that James puts off more of a family-oriented image than he lets off to be…" She paused to wait for the teleprompter to catch up. "An anonymous source has posted personal images of the singer, in different sightings. And, as the tabloids have said and are now confirmed, he has married the sister of lead vocalist, Kendall Knight."

The newscaster continued to speak, while images of his personal life flashed across the screen in what looked like a memorial for a dead person. "After a six year battle with cancer, Katie Knight finally managed to win over the heart of James Diamond, and inevitably would marry him and mother two children. Isaac Caleb and Landon Ruth. The children were born on August eleventh, of this year. Both mother and children are doing fine, despite the alarming circumstances leading to their birth. As one spectator had said, James appeared to have been fighting with someone in a bar when the fight got out of hand and his wife was hit. The children were born premature, but both are doing fine." The woman smiled and laughed. "And, don't forget to check our website for the other images too hot to show on live television…"

Katie began to feel sick. How did anyone get a hold of those images? They were personal pictures of her and her husband. Was someone following them? Camille was the photographer behind a lot of them, Travis taking the others of the twins while they were visiting. Even Kendall, Carlos, and Logan weren't aware of Katie having the babies. She slid down the length of the wall and sat on the floor, brooding over who it could have been that posted them. "James, this is our life. This is public. People will follow me everywhere."

"Yeah, I know." He quietly knelt beside her, bringing her hands into his. "Katie, when I married you I promised to protect you from the wicked things that came along with being who I was. I can't save you from everything, and you do a good job on your own, but I never prayed for this to happen." The newscaster continued to speak, but he ignored it. "What were the _other _images too _hot _to post?"

Katie, for the first time in several years, broke down crying. "They have the ones of you and me kissing on the plane."

"That's not so bad." James murmured.

"They have the ones of us kissing in the park."

"I still don't see what's wrong about that." James quietly murmured again.

"They have the one of me…the one I took when I was pregnant…" Katie trailed off, her voice a mere whisper.

"…the one where you were naked?" James inquired, holding her hands tighter. "Please, Katie, don't tell me yes."

"No." Katie whispered.

"Oh, thank God." James brought her into his arms and held her close. "Katie, I'm so sorry. I never wanted you to be part of any of my battles." Then he noticed her still crying, his voice husky. "You lied, didn't you?"

"Yes. They posted it. It's censored, but it's still there. Now everyone knows what a big slut I am." Katie's tiny body trembled. "They have the ones of the sonograms, the ones I sent you when you were in Korea last year…they have the reports from my chemotherapy…James, they've got everything on me."

"How much do they have on the twins?" James asked absently.

"Almost full medical files. Most of it is blacked out, but they've got all of it." Katie bit her lip and shook her head. "They're fucking with lives now."

"She did it for a promotion. They've been trying to get pictures of me for years. Now they're going to draw me out by dragging you into it." James quietly dug his phone out of his pocket and dialed Gustavo's number. When the man picked up, James took a deep breath. Before he could speak, Gustavo shouted _have you been watching the news? _James took a deep breath again and closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against Katie's. "Yes. I'm not too happy right now. Neither is Katie."

"I can imagine how mad Katie is right now," Kelly murmured quietly. "I'm sure she's plotting revenge right now."

"You're his publicist! You were supposed to keep that from happening!" Katie shouted. James quieted her, saying something about the babies being asleep. She bit her lip and growled. "How did they get a picture of me _naked_?" Katie screamed again.

James wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close. "Gustavo, please tell me you can do something about this. Please. Now that it's gotten out that we have kids…that I'm married…they're never going to leave her alone."

"Not that I'm defending what they did, but wasn't it pretty obvious that Katie was your wife? People saw you together constantly." Kelly whispered.

Katie's temper flared higher. "They saw us because I was James' manager! It's _normal _to be seen with your _manager_!" Katie screamed. Isaac began to cry in response to her anger.

James removed his arm so Katie could go get Isaac and calm him down. He shook his head and shut the bedroom door when she left. He leaned against the door and shut his eyes. "Gustavo, is there anything we can do about this? I know I can't erase that image from the public eye, but…the kids. What about them? Katie's image…" He quietly looked down at the floor, moving his toes in circles so he could occupy his mind. "I never wanted her to be dragged into the public eye like this."

"To be fair, even when she had her bout with cancer it was really quiet. In fact, I don't remember anyone saying a word, besides Kendall whom made a comment about it at a concert. But you always addressed it as Kendall's sister. No one mentioned her being married to you." Kelly quietly whispered. "James, I don't think there's anything we can do. But since they were leaked, you can always call and have the FBI investigate it."

"What's the worst they can do?" James inquired, sliding down the wall and sitting on the floor. "Whoever did this…I wouldn't care if their fight was with me. I can handle the press. I've done it for ten years. Bringing her into this is overkill. She did nothing wrong." He ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head and moving the phone to the other ear. "I'm worried about someone threatening to kidnap her or the kids."

"I don't think anyone would get that drastic," Kelly commented, trying to be the voice of reason while Gustavo screamed about calling his 'dogs' to 'committee'. "Does Kendall know? He'll probably want to be with Katie right now."

"Katie's terrified to see her family right now. Kelly, understand, I was away for almost four months. She wanted me to see the progression, so she took an artistic nude picture to send me." He closed his eyes. "It's not like I ever really stared at it like a pervert. I just kept it for posterity." He bit his lip, nibbling carefully. "Is there anywhere Katie and the kids can stay that would be safe?"

"Montana. With your dad." Gustavo suggested.

"No! I'm not letting him have control over my wife and kids. I refuse. Not after how he raised me." James began to shake, staring at the laundry he hadn't quite finished putting away. He could hear Katie in the living room, conversing with someone. He took a deep breath. "I'll call later…I have to go."

He hung up with Kelly and turned the corner to see Katie talking to a neighbor. Katie was wearing a dark green sweater that fell over her shoulders. It was baggy, but it didn't show anything. She chose a pair of dark black jeans to wear, her feet were bare. He watched her back away from the door slightly. "Miss Adams, I'm so sorry you had to see that."

"Don't be sorry," The woman began. "I had no idea your husband was _the _James Diamond."

Katie blinked several times. "I understand that you have concerns with your children being around me, but I assure you, I'm not promiscuous. I'm not a pedophile or anything. I just took that one picture…"

"Either way," The woman spoke carefully. "I don't want my husband to have more reasons to look at you."

James clenched his fist, and then quickly unclenched it, standing beside his wife. "I'll make sure to keep the shades closed." He hissed, slamming the door. He turned to Katie and looked down at her. "Take the kids, go stay with Kendall."

"And put Jo at risk as well? James, I'm not backing down from a fight. Nothing has happened so far, so I'm not worried. I'm sure it will pass overnight. Scandals like this always pass." She smiled softly. "Look at Lindsay Lohan? She's been in rehab how many times? Who remembers that, honestly?" She kissed his cheek and placed a hand against his fist. "Don't worry about this. It will blow over."

"I'm worried about the twins." James whispered, fighting off the urge to put a fist through the wall. He knew Katie wouldn't be able to handle him if his temper got the best of him. He took a deep breath and smiled to her. "Stay inside for the next few days. If you need anything, I'll have Kelly bring it over. I'm hoping you're right about this, Katie. I really am."

"Have I been wrong before?" Katie asked, snuggling against his shoulder. "I wish I knew who was doing this. Whoever it is…they're out to ruin you. I won't let them hurt your reputation."

"Katie, I love you, but you need to promise me that if it comes down to it, you'll be ready to take the kids and run…forget about me." James whispered.

"You're thinking too much. It's just pictures. This will blow over. They won't hurt us." She kissed his hand and stayed sitting on the floor with him. It was the most romantic thing they'd done since the twins were born. "But I'm not leaving you behind. I assure you."

* * *

><p><strong>These are going to be short chapters. I want to draw the story out. I'll likely post two chapters a week, since I'm actually finished with this story. I started it at 10am the day this was posted…and finished it at 10pm the same day. XD I was really into it. I hope you guys like it as much as I did. It's a little dramatic, and kind of OOC, but I liked it. It picks up after Step Two left off, so if you haven't read that, this won't make sense to you. Think of it as a sequel.<strong>


End file.
